


a child's laugh

by salazarastark



Series: Joanna [3]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: Alternate Universe - Always a Different Sex, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Gen, R plus L equals J
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-22
Updated: 2014-12-29
Packaged: 2018-01-16 15:32:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1352572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/salazarastark/pseuds/salazarastark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Ned ends up fostering the heirs to all the Lord Paramount's. How no one's quite sure.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Joanna Targaryen

**Author's Note:**

> I've wanted to read one of these stories, so I decided to write it. (Also, fem!Jon is in this story. Why? Because I don't believe that you always have to fix the problem once you've addressed it. So I'm not going to stop adding Joanna to my stories, because she's awesome. Deal with it.)

“She’s his daughter!” Robert yelled. “The daughter of the man who raped your sister beyond count. And you want to take her and raise her at Winterfell!”

“She’s also my sister’s daughter, the daughter of the woman you say that you love beyond any sort of measurement,” Ned replied coldly as he held Joanna close to him. “And yes. I want her with me at Winterfell. I’ve already written to Catelyn about it, asked her to prepare a room for Joanna when she arrived with our son.”

Robert seemed to almost crackle with fury and Ned hated Jon Arryn in this moment. Ned had told his foster father about Joanna and that she was not his bastard as he had already told others, that she was in truth Rhaegar and Lyanna’s child, that she was their true-born child. Ned knew that it was foolish, but he thought he could trust Jon not to tell.

But Jon had thought that Robert would understand that Joanna was innocent, that the crimes of her father were not hers.

Ned thought that Jon was an idiot and couldn’t stop the glares he was sending to the man though in all fairness to Jon, Ned knew that he was even more of an idiot. Jon, to his credit, was trying to repair the damage as best he could. “Robert, she’s an infant, and a girl at that. When she marries, that will be the end of the Targaryen line.”

“And what happens when her sons decide that my throne should be theirs?”

“Then marry her to a son you might have one day, or to Renly even.”

Robert practically growled. “I don’t want a dragon anywhere near my family.”

“Might I remind you of your grandmother and what exactly your claim is to be King?” Ned snapped.

Robert jolted out of the Iron Throne as if to throttle Ned and Ned looked for a safe person to give Joanna to while him and Robert fought. He decided that Barristan Selmy was a safe bet, but Selmy was gripping the hilt of his sword tightly and Ned thought better. He wasn’t sure who exactly Selmy was gripping his sword for.

He had his answer with Selmy’s words. “She’s not even a month old! And you plan on killing her?”

Robert’s eyes narrowed. “She’s dragonspawn.”

“She’s Lya’s daughter!” Ned yelled.

“And his!”

“We’ve already been through this, and the only way you’ll be able to get to her is if you can kill me!”

“And me,” said Selmy. Howland Reed moved silently to stand next to Ned. “Me too.” To Ned’s surprise, Jaime Lannister came to his other side, his chin high and his eyes burning as he looked at Robert. “Aerys’ hands were soaked with blood, but it was only his hands that were. Joanna Targaryen is innocent.”

Robert looked over all of them. He could probably win a fight against Ned, but only Ned. Howland, Jaime, and Barristan were all better than Ned when it came to fighting and Robert would have no hope against the four of them.

Lysa Arryn, his new good-sister, walked up to him to take Joanna from his arms. Jon tried to stop her, but she shrugged him off and took the little girl. She smiled at Ned as she did so. “Don’t worry,” she whispered. “I’ll keep her safe.”

She smiled as she rocked Joanna and moved back to the wall of the Red Keep, sending only a quick glare to Rober as she did so. Ned made a mental note to let Lysa know that there was a standing invitation to her to come to Winterfell whenever she wished.

“Robert,” Ned said softly. “Please. Don’t make us rip this kingdom in half over another war when it hasn’t even started to heal from this one.”

Robert closed his eyes. He looked defeated and nothing like the friend Ned knew. Or really, thought he knew. “Very well. Do what you wish, but know that you and me are no longer friends, from this moment on. Consider this one last gift from me.”

“I’m sure it was very hard,” Ned snapped, “to decide that killing an innocent child was not the right thing to do. And know that I will not be in King’s Landing much longer. We’re leaving tonight.”

Ned turned around and stormed out of the Red Keep, ignoring Robert yelling at Selmy and Lannister, Howland Reed and Lysa both following after him. He quickly grabbed Joanna from Lysa’s arms and held her close. He leaned back against a wall and breathed heavily. “Thank you, Lysa,” he said. “Please feel free to come to Winterfell whenever you wish.”

Lysa nodded. “Thank you, Lord Stark. I’m sure I’ll take you up on that soon. I’d love to see Joanna again, and meet Robb.”

Ned nodded. “Please do. Howland, can you please inform everyone that they need to start packing. It’s best if we leave the city before nightfall.”


	2. Edmure Tully

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Edmure, he's my favorite Tully. :D

Edmure watched as Catelyn busied herself with making sure everything was perfect at Winterfell. Ned Stark was due to arrive at Winterfell later today with men that he would need to prepare a feast for and a niece that would need a nursery.

Edmure stood up and started walking away from the processions. He wanted to practice sword-fighting with Benjen, but he was helping Catelyn get Winterfell ready and Robb was too little to really have fun with, and Joanna Targaryen would be too little to have any fun with either.

Edmure wondered briefly if Joanna Targaryen was still considered a princess or not, now that the Targaryens were no longer kings. Probably not, but Edmure did think it would be rather nice to know a princess.

And whether or not she was still considered a princess or not, she was still a Targaryen. Edmure knew that already there were marriage offers for the little girl. He had seen them all, though none had been opened. That was for Ned Stark to do. But Edmure could guess from the names.

Tywin Lannister, Mace Tyrell, Doran Martell, Balon Greyjoy. . . . It seemed everyone wanted a Targaryen for a good-daughter one day, even Edmure’s own father, who had wanted Uncle Brynden to stay at Winterfell until Ned Stark arrived when everyone was preparing to escort Cat to here, and Edmure had caught the dreaded word “marriage” when he eavesdropped on them.

Uncle Brynden wasn’t mad, so that ruled out him, and who else could they be talking about with both Cat and Lysa married but him?

Edmure didn’t want to be married to a baby though, and decided that if they tried to make him, he would run away. The North was big, and he could find some wildlings to join and that would be amazing!!!

Edmure grinned and started planning his adventure to find wildlings. It should have danger of course. What was the point of an adventure if you didn’t have danger? He was too busying planning his adventure, which required the utmost stealth and sneakiness, to even bother noticing he had run into Uncle Brynden.

“Oof!” he cried as he found himself nearly falling to the ground if it hadn’t been for his uncle’s quick reflexes.

“Watch where you’re going, boy!” his uncle said with a laugh, and Edmure blushed furiously. This was _not_ a good start to an adventure.

“What are you doing?” Uncle Brynden asked him, smiling and unable to control it.

Edmure looked at his uncle suspiciously before deciding to just go ahead and ask him, “Are you going to make me marry the princess?”

Uncle Brynden actually looked shocked at his words. “Marry the-. What? No, I’m not going to make you marry an infant! What makes you think such a thing?”

Edmure looked at his feet. “I heard you and Father mention marriage and since you weren’t yelling. . . .”

Unce Brynden relax. “No, boy. Your father and I were saying that since Cat is married to Ned Stark, we wanted you to stay at Winterfell even when we both leave. Give you a chance to learn something about another part of Westeros, but that way you’d still have family around.” Uncle Brynden frowned. “Is that not okay? We thought you would like that.”

Edmure’s eyes widened and he felt a huge grin spread over his face. He loved Winterfell! It had started snowing on their third day here, a snow that had lasted two days. Edmure hadn’t seen snow since he was five years old, and he loved it just as much now as he did then.

“Are you serious? Yes! How long will I stay here?”

Uncle Brynden smiled with relief. “As long as Cat will keep you around. So hope she doesn’t get too tired of you.”

Edmure nodded. He would be the best brother ever to Cat so she never sent him away and he perhaps he could even squire for Ned, though according to Uncle Brynden most northerner’s weren’t knights, which Edmure though was silly, but mayhap he could be a squire to someone else here. And he and Benjen could practice their fighting and when Robb got old enough he could teach him. Edmure hugged his uncle. He couldn’t wait for Ned Stark to get here. And he wouldn’t have to marry a princess. He could just be friends.


	3. Tyrion Lannister

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tyrion's chapter here!

“Why does Father want me to go to Winterfell?” Tyrion asked, as he looked at Uncle Kevan. His uncle sighed. “Your father wants you to go to Winterfell as a ward.”

Tyrion nodded, and was silent for only a few minutes before he asked, “Why?”

Uncle Kevan sighed again. “Because he wants you to learn a little something about the world outside Casterly Rock, and he wants you to do it at Winterfell.”

Tyrion nodded again, but he didn’t quite believe his uncle. He knew Father didn’t like him, and was probably sending him away because he didn’t want him at Casterly Rock anymore. Father didn’t like him learning, but Uncle Kevan was probably just saying that to make him to feel better. Not for the first time, Tyrion wished Uncle Kevan was his father. He and Father would both be happier for that. But Uncle Kevan wouldn’t be, so Tyrion knew that he should stop wishing for that.

Tyrion remembered everything he could about Eddard Stark, the current Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North. He used to be King Robert’s closest friend, until he wouldn’t let the new king kill his niece and the Mad King’s granddaughter, Joanna Targaryen. King Robert eventually let him go back to Winterfell with his niece to raise, but they were no longer best friends. Tyrion wondered why Tywin Lannister would be letting his heir go to be fostered by a near-traitor, but he tried not to think much of it.

Perhaps his father wanted him to marry Joanna Targaryen. Tyrion would have thought that being the last child of a dynasty that the old king hated would have put many men off of marrying their sons too, but apparently not. It seemed like most men wanted their heirs to marry Joanna Targaryen so they could have the privilege of having dragonblood, as Tyrion once heard King Robert say, in the heirs to come.

Tyrion thought it would be nice to marry someone with dragonblood, but he knew that Ned Stark would never agree to have his niece, and the last Targaryen, marry a dwarf, not even a Lannister. More than likely, since Cersei was to marry King Robert and become Queen, Joanna Targaryen would end up marrying his nephew, whenever that child may be born.

“What’s Ned Stark like?” he asked Uncle Kevan as they prepared for bed that night, the first night in their journey to Winterfell. Uncle Kevan frowned. “If he’s going to be fostering me, I want to know what he’s like.”

“I’ve only met him once,” Uncle Kevan said. “At the Tourney of Harrenhal where Prince Rhaegar first saw Lyanna Stark, and even that was only in passing. He’s a good man though, any man willing to risk everything for his niece is. But quiet too, and hard to read. I don’t think you ever quite know where you stand with him.”

Upon seeing the worried look on Tyrion’s face, Uncle Kevan quickly tried to backtrack. “I don’t think he’ll mistreat you in anyway, Tyrion. If he didn’t want to foster you, he wouldn’t have agreed to it.”

Tyrion nodded. He remembered something else about Ned Stark, and that was he killed Arthur Dayne, the man that Jaime always looked up to and constantly said that was better than him. If Ned Stark killed Arthur Dayne, then that meant that Ned Stark was better than Arthur Dayne and therefore better than Jaime and Jaime was the best knight Tyrion knew. Tyrion wouldn’t have a chance against Ned Stark if he truly wanted to hurt him.

He didn’t sleep a wink that night.

A week later, they arrived at Winterfell and Tyrion looked nervously out of his carriage at the man in the court Uncle Kevan started talking too. That must be Ned Stark. Next to him was a red-haired boy that seemed to be only a year or two older than Tyrion, and he wondered who that was. After a few minutes, Uncle Kevan waved for him to come and meet his new foster-father.

Tyrion gulped as he got out slowly. The cold was making his joints hurt. Ned Stark’s gray eyes followed him as he did so and the man frowned. He said something to Uncle Kevan that Tyrion couldn’t hear, nor what Uncle Kevan said in response.

Tyrion stood in front of Ned Stark and the man gave him a brief smile, before nudging the red-haired boy next to him who had been staring at Tyrion like he had never seen a dwarf before. More than likely, he hadn’t.

“Welcome to Winterfell,” Lord Stark said, his voice warm and already Tyrion was liking this man. “Your uncle says you like to read. Edmure can show you the library until the feast is ready.”

Tyrion didn’t think Ned Stark wanted to hurt him.


	4. AN

So, I'm back. I know it's been a long time, but I'm really trying to get back to my writing, and I'm rereading my old stories to get back into the hang of them. As I'm reading them however, I found a couple stories that I really should rewrite. This story is one of them. I can't say when I'll start rewriting them, but hopefully it will be soon and you'll enjoy the story much better once I've reposted.

Thank you for any understanding you might be able to feel.


End file.
